Inspired by so many recipes this is a remarkably easy filo pie recipe and pretty fun to make. One to make with the kids (well the rolling up of the pastry steps) and a total showstopper when you bring it to the table.
Ingredients
1 bunch spring onions, finely chopped
1 small leek finely chopped
500g lamb mince
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp ras el hanout (I used Gewurzhaus brand)
6 semi sun dried figs (you can use either black or white or a mix), chopped
1 bunch parsley, finely chopped
Approx 6 medium sized silverbeet leaves finely chopped (you can use any green leaves here, the silverbeet was what I had in the garden)
Juice of one lemon
Season with salt and pepper
1 375g packet of filo Pastry ( I used Antoniou but I did have leftovers, which I resealed and put back in the fridge)
¾ cup olive oil
100g feta cheese, crumbled in small pieces
1/2 cup flaked almonds
Method
I'm not great at doing this but remember to take your filo out of the fridge at least 2 hours before you begin, to bring it up to room temperature.
Pre-heat your oven to 180 deg Celsius fan forced. Line a 30-33 cm baking tray with baking paper. I end up using at round frypan as my pan, it worked perfectly.
For the filling
Place the lamb mince in a bowl, break it up and add the chopped onion and leeks. Then add the figs, silver beet, spices, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly. I initially transferred this to a lightly oiled hot frying pan to brown the mince meat. I wanted greater caramelisation so I transferred it to a roasting dish and put in the oven for about 10-15 mins to cook through and caramelise the meat and greens. While this was cooking I made a quick hummus to serve with the pie for dinner. I used Greg Malouf's recipe but with a can of chickpeas thoroughly rinsed so I didn't have to soak overnight (was delicious and super easy and made wonder why I buy pre-made hummus). Once the mince is brown let it cool off outside the oven before assembling the pie.
Assembling the spiral pie
Place one sheet of filo on your counter/bench, with the long edge of the pastry in front of you. Brush with olive oil. Place another sheet of pastry on top and brush with oil.
Spread 4 heaped tablespoons of the filling along the length of the pastry, approximately a couple centimetres from the bottom long edge and one centimetre from the pastry sides. I sprinkled on top the of the filling small crumbles of the feta cheese and flaked almonds.
Roll the pastry tightly to form a log. Roll the log into a coil and transfer to the centre of the baking tray.
Continue to make the logs with the remaining pastry until you run out of filling placing each log around the first centre coil to form a larger spiral. Brush with olive oil.
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the pastry is golden.
Serves 4-6 people with other accompaniments. We had this for dinner with brown rice, Greek yoghurt, homemade hummus, tomato chutney and carrot/cucumber crudites. A very eclectic dinner that the whole family totally loved.
